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SCIENCE APPLIED TO 
POULTRY RAISING 




A. E. BOURKE 
POULTRY EFFICIENCY EXPERT 



Copyright, 1920 

by 
A» E. BOURKE 



JUL -7 Ib20 
'1A570565 






^^' ^-oA 



INDEX 

Alfalfa 20 

Anatomy of a Fowl ...: 24 

Bath, How to Prepare 35 

Bath for Baby Chicks 51 

Bowl Trouble 38 

Body Lice 39 

Brooding Baby Chicks , 48 

Catarrh 40 

Chicken Pox 40 

Discarding Hens 29 

Diseases of Fowls 30 

Eggs and Their Material Composition 14 

Eggs for Hatching 16 

Ensilage 24 

Egg Mash Formula 47 

Feeding Wet Mash 47 

Feeding Baby Chicks 49 

Final, But Most Important 52 

Grains, How to Feed 41 

Greens .-. 42 

Grits and Shells 42 

Grit for Baby Chicks 51 

Garlic 52 

Incubators 18 

Indigestion 39 

Over Fat, The Cause 12 

Preface .. 5 

Prolific Hens, How to Tell ... ..>... 27 



Ptomaine Poison - 31 

Purgative and When to Give ...-, 32 

Purgative Formula 42 

Purgative, How to Give 43 

Runs and Yards for Chicks - 51 

Scientific Facts 6 

Science to the Rescue — - -- ---- 12 

Soluble Magnesia and Sulphur 34 

Spray for Mites and Disinfectant 39 

Saturated Solution 42 

Sunshine and Light - 44 

Sanitation 51 

Ten Minerals - 8 

The Missing Minerals - 10 

The World Renown Mineral Springs 33 

To Be Avoided, and Why - 37 

Tonic Formula 42 

Tonic, How to Give 44 

Tonic for Chicks 52 

Vegetable Diet for Eggs 22 

Worms, How to Exterminate 41 

Wet Mash Troughs 4S 

Water -- 51 

Whole Grain for Chicks 51 

Yards for Baby Chicks 45 

Yeast as Food and Medicine 45 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 



PREFACE 

Scientific farming has transformed the over-worked plod- 
der to an affluent aristocrat. 

Science, when applied to stock raising has been fully as 
beneficial. What about poultry raising? Why is it that 
science is not applied as well as in other branches of endeavor? 
Why does all scientific farmers agree on all problems of 
farming? True, some are more successful than others. Why? 
Because some are more scientific than others. Did you 
ever see any great number of poultry-raisers agree on poultry 
raising? Of course not. Why? Because science is not 
being applied. If science were applied to poultry raising all 
would agree. You may rest assured that there is an exact 
science governing poultry raising. That is what has prompted 
this little book. If its precepts are followed there can be but 
one result, and that is — Success. 

The Author. 



6 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

SCIENTIFIC FACTS 

The world is divided into three kingdoms — mineral, veg- 
etable and animal. First comes the mineral kingdom, be- 
cause from it sprung the other two kingdoms; and without 
the first nothing animate or inanimate can live. 

First let us understand what composes the mineral king- 
dom: The whole earth and all that it contains (without the 
vegetable and animal kingdom) even the gases surrounding 
the earth — oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen, even water (rain) 
is the offspring of minerals. Oxygen and nitrogen, which 
we have all about us, which is the air we breathe, while 
hydrogen floats around in clouds or stratas, and when these 
clouds or stratas of hydrogen are broken up by any air dis- 
turbance, and comes in contact with the other gas (oxygen) 
water is formed and rain is the result. So then rain is the 
offspring of mineral gases, and is, in truth, mineral, or a 
combination of minerals. 

When this rain falls upon the earth it causes at once a 
chemical action, the result of which is a growth of vegetable 
life, and having for its parents mineral earth and mineral 
rain it must be in turn mineral, or a combination of minerals. 
Furthermore, these vegetable plants, with their roots extending 
into the earth, getting their life-giving properties from the min- 
erals of the earth, and rain from the skies, and the air that 
it breathes (oxygen and nitrogen) it must be in turn the 
essence of minerals. 

Now let us go a little further: this vegetable life gives in 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 7 

turn life to animals. Now if animal life gets its sustenance 
from plants which are mineral, drinks the water which is 
mineral, and breathes the air which is mineral, it is quite 
plain that animal life is composed of minerals. 

Now you may say what has all this talk of minerals to 
do with chickens? Well, be patient, I am coming to that, 
and this first subject must be understood before we can pro- 
ceed and be master over the care of our chickens and properly 
care for them. And not only chickens but all animals are 
governed by the same laws. 

What we need to know most of all is what are the 
minerals which are the most beneficial or necessary to the 
animals which are under our care? That is logical, is it 
not? 

Well, then, let us proceed and find out. 

Did you ever notice that in the spring of the year, in 
California, with the first rains, all nature revives, the grass 
and vegetable plants come to life, after a long dry and dor- 
mant period, and when all animal life has been living under 
artificial or unnatural conditions; when their physical con- 
dition is away below par, how quickly they revive when 
turned loose to feast upon the young and tender shoots of 
grass, plants, etc. 

Why? Because these young plants are heavily charged 
with sap, (essence of minerals) which is tio indispensible to 
the physical make-up of animal kind. Anyone who has 
lived in the country can testify to the wonderful reviving prop- 
erties of vegetable growth in the spring of the year, when all 



8 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

animal kind comes up to its best and remains in that con- 
dition until these reviving conditions cease to exist. 



TEN MINERALS 

There are ten elements (minerals) which are necessary 
to the growth of useful vegetables or plants; plants that In 
turn will give and sustain life to animals which have an 
affinity to the human race. These elements are oxygen, 
nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, iron, sulphur, potassium, magne- 
sium, phosphorus and calcium. Five of these elements seem 
always present in the soil in quantities necessary and inexhausti- 
ble; they are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, iron, and sulphur. 
Of the other five elements (minerals) some of them may be 
absent from certain soil or locality or may have become ex- 
hausted by the growing of certain crops which will absorb 
one or all of them. These elements (minerals) are magne- 
sium, potassium, phosphorus calcium and nitrate. The scien- 
tific farmer knows when any of the last named elements are 
absent in his soil and he at once applies the required minerals 
(fertilizer )and practices crop rotation. 

Having discovered one of the secrets of plant life, and 
knowing that all of the above-mentioned minerals are indis- 
pensible to their growth, and perpetual welfare, what about 
ourselves and our domestic animals? 

Don't our very existence depend upon the vegetable king- 
dom? Of course it does. 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 9 

We have discovered that certain elements (minerals) 
are indispensible to the Hfe and growth of the vegetable plant 
which we must have for* our own life and growth; do we 
understand as clearly the importance of minerals in our daily 
life? I am fearful that this knowledge or information has 
been neglected to a great extent; to the great sorrow, suffering 
and loss to animal kind. But it Is not too late to look into 
this great problem. To go into full details it would, I fear, 
take too much space and I do not believe that it would do 
any good to the average person; so I will content myself with 
a brief explanation, and leave it to the reader, if he has any 
inclination in that line, to read between the lines, and I pre^ 
diet that it will be found a very interesting subject. 

Animal kind, like vegetable plants, must have its proper 
quota of mineral elements for its normal growth and health; 
and if any of these elements are absent in the food of the 
animal that animal will not be normal; it will become a prey 
to disease, may possibly linger along under abnormal condi- 
tions, and it will be short lived. But, given all of its nat- 
ural elements, each animal will live its allotted life (barring 
a violent death) in a healthy and natural way. 

It is conceded that practically all diseases come from 
one source, and that is poison in the blood, or impure blood; 
and impure blood comes from faulty digestion. Indigestion 
is food passing through the system without being properly 
assimilated, for the lack of the necessary mineral or minerals 
in the system. 



10 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

Now it is up to us, like the vegetable grower, to supply 
the missing mineral or minerals. 

You may ask, can it be done? Of course it can, and if 
you carefully read on I will lead you to that point, where you 
will have that simple knowledge, a knowledge which is indis- 
pensible for the successful carrying on of general farming 
and animal husbandry. 



THE MISSING MINERALS 

In a previous chapter I called your attention to the effect 
which spring vegetation had on the toning up of the animal 
kind. You will also note in another chapter I mention that 
it took ten known important minerals to produce vegetable 
plants essential to the life and welfare of animals with an 
affinity to the human kind. I will beg of you to follow me 
closely on this subject, for it is important to get that clear Tn 
your mind so as to appreciate the bearing it has upon the 
health and general welfare of the animal kind. 

In passing, allow me to make an explanation as to why 
I mention animals which have an affinity to the human kind. 
There are minerals which are very poisonous to the animals 
which have an affinity to the human kind, and these poison- 
ous minerals produce vegetables that are in turn poisonous, 
and there are animals which thrive upon these poisonous veg- 
etables; and in turn these animals are poisonous to our kind. 
That is the reason why I have made the distinction, so from 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 11 

how on I will only mention animals, but always bear in mind 
that I mean animals which have an affinity to the kuman 
kind. 

Now, as I have said before, the rain or melting snow^, 
which is the same, (contain the same minerals) coming in 
contact with the earth minerals, produces a chemical action, 
dissolves or extracts essences of the various minerals which 
are indispensible to the life of the vegetable plant. In turn 
these plants spring up with new life, getting their life-giving 
properties into their blood (sap), through their many roots, and 
up into the general circulation of the plants sustaining the 
plant up to its allotted life; unless it has been prematurely 
destroyed through some unnatural causes. 

Now why does this great phenomenon which is so bene- 
ficial, or in truth indispensible to the animal kind, occur at 
this particular period? Simple after you have looked into 
it and understand it. 

It is certain minerals that remain in the plant only for a 
short time, or, in other words, while the sap is running in the 
Various species of plants, but as soon as the sap ceases to run 
then these certain minerals, essences, passes out of the plant, 
evaporates into various gases into the air. We will not follow 
these minerals any further, for it would be a long and tedious 
job, for they are taken up and combined with other ele- 
ments and come down again in due time under other names, 
to continue their good work. 

We have noticed that as long as the animals feed upon 
these tender blades of grass and shoots their bowels are de- 



12 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

cidedly loose, or, In other words, it acts as a purgative, and 
that is the time that they do their best. (Note — Please re- 
member this laxative condition and its beneficial effect.) That 
is the time when the mammals of all kinds give the most 
milk. Our hens revive back to health and laying, and con- 
tinue to do so as long as those favorable conditions last; 
but as soon as it ceases the milk flow stops from the mam- 
mals, the egg yield stops from the hens, etc., and they revert 
back little by little to their sickly, unnatural condition, until 
the following spring, if they have lived through the ordeal. 

OVER FAT 

Abnormal fat is a sign of an unhealthy condition, caused 
by a sluggish liver, for a normal, healthy fowl is never fat, 
nor under fat, but they are plump, hard and muscular. If a 
fowl gets over fat and is not killed she will very likely die 
suddenly or linger along and waste away until there is nothing 
left of her but the dry frame and shaggy feathers. This is 
called going light; so keep the liver of your fowls active. 
(Follow formula.) 

SCIENCE TO THE RESCUE 

Through Untiring investigation science comes to the rescue 
to help these unfortunate animals. I will cite one branch of 
our animal husbandry t 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 13 

To the modern cattle or dairy man the silo is prob- 
ably one of the greatest improvements of the age, as by its 
use many lives are saved and the animals kept in a healthy 
condition when the natural resources have failed. 

How it works: The vegetable plants which are used to 
fill the silo are cut just at the time or just before the time the 
sap stops running. It is harvested, cut into proper size and 
carefully packed into the silo, which is positively air tight, so 
as to preserve all of the mineral essences. After a short 
interval of time, which it takes for the chemcal action to 
take place, the ensilage is ready for use; and what have we 
got? We have practically the same condition which is man- 
ifested in the tender plants in the spring of the year. When 
fed to cows they keep on giving the same quantity of milk 
which they did under spring conditions, and it has been dem- 
onstrated that a cow can be kept with practically the same 
flow of milk for three years without calving but once. Be- 
sides thf, animal fed on this ensilage is kept the year around 
in perfect health; and the mortality has been reduced 
to practically nil, while in the old way, when ITie cattle 
roamed at large, the mortality was anywhere from 10 per 
cent to 25 per cent, even more when the seasons were 
abnormal. 

I hope thus far that I have made it clear that there must 
necessarily be some certain elements which are missing in 
the old style of feeding fowls. You may rest assured there 
is; and what are these elements which are missing? The 



14 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

first and principal one is magnesia, next sulphur, iron and 
potassium. 

In what form and in what way and when these different 
elements are to be given I will go into, in detail, in another 
chapter. 



EGGS AND THEIR MATERIAL 
COMPOSITION 

Eggs when analyzed will be found to contain various 
elements which are classified and given each their proper 
technical names. But for the purpose of imparting a clear, 
plain understanding of what effect different foods have on 
the physical make-up of an egg I will use only two terms, 
a lean egg and a fat egg. We all know that there is a vast 
difference in the flavor and food value of eggs. A lean egg 
may contain 90 per cent of what is termed water to TO per 
cent of what is termed fat, while a fat egg may contain 70 
per cent water to 30 per cent fat. Now what is the cause 
of this great difference? Well, I will try and give the 
explanation in a plain and comprehensible manner without 
going into technical terms, which are, as a rule, more or less 
confusing to the average reader. An egg is composed of 
the various elements which the hen has been eating, or the 
essence of those elements. We will, for instance, feed a 
hen on certain food the flavor of which is disagreeable to 
a person, and when eaten the disagreeable flavor will be 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 15 

detected in the egg. Take onions, garlic, fish, etc., if fed 
to hens in quantity will impart their flavor to such an extent 
that the eggs are positively objectionable to the average per- 
son. Even the flesh of the fowls takes the flavor of what 
is eaten. Now that this point is clear let us proceed. The 
modern poultry plant, as we know it today, where in most 
cases the fowls are kept in great number, in a small enclosure, 
their food is brought to them and doled out to them in what 
is known as a balanced ration. These balanced rations are 
composed of very rich, dry, concentrated foods, producing an 
egg rich in fat, very pleasant to the taste but lacking the 
essential life-giving properties which are only contained in the 
lean egg, which I will now describe. The lean egg is an 
egg which has been laid by a hen that has been feeding on 
tender blades of grass, succulent vegetables, and little dry 
grain. These eggs will be lean, containing little fat and 
will not have the pleasing flavor of the fat egg; but you may 
rest assured if you are using eggs for medicinal purposes, you 
will get the desired result from the lean egg, while you may 
aggravate your trouble with the fat egg. Maybe this is 
something new to you, so probably you wish more proof to 
convince you. I could give you stacks of proofs, but a few 
will, I believe, be sufficient to enable you to look up your 
own proofs, which you can easily do and you will not find 
them lacking. 

In another chapter I mention that fat animars and very 
lean animals are the result of an unhealthy condition and the 
same is true of an egg, for an egg is the embryo of an. 



16 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

animal; so if it is fat the embryo is in an unhealthy condition, 
similar to what it would be if it were full grown; and that 
egg soon spoils, if not kept in cold storage, while the lean 
egg will keep for a long time, I have seen eggs layed by 
hens in tropical countries, hens which lived in a natural way, 
fed mostly on vegetable diet, when the eggs were kept in a 
room where the temperature averagd 85 degrees for six 
weeks, and yet be fit for human consumption. The con- 
tents of a lean egg is not solid like a fat egg and it dries up 
quickly and the contents may be shaken but it is not spoiled. 

EGGS FOR HATCHING 

If you wish to produce eggs for hatching purposes and 
your desire is to get big hatches of strong, healthy, robust 
chicks, then you will have to feed your hens a vegetable 
diet in order to produce a lean egg. That will contain the 
essential mineral elements which the embryo must have in 
order to develop and grow into a normal fowl. A lean egg 
has all the necessary elements which is needed to make a 
normal chick. The white of the egg (albumen) is what is 
used up to make the body of the chick, while the yolk is 
what feeds the chick when the digestive organs are formed, 
and the balance of the yolk will be absorbed through the 
navel just before the chick breaks out of the shell, and that 
yolk will continue to nourish the newly born for two days 
after it is hatched, when the yolk will be completely utilized 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 17 

and digested. Then the chick is ready to take other nourish- 
ment that is appropriate to its nature. While a fat egg not 
only lacks some of the vital elements needed to produce a 
normal chick, it makes an over-fat chick, which means a 
chick born with a sluggish liver, indigestion and bowel trouble, 
and most poultry raisers know the hard job it is to raise to 
maturity such chicks. In the course of incubation the embryo 
dies at all stages of the gam^, principally just before the 
hatching time. They will be hatching for as long as two 
days, when it should not last more than ten hours from the 
time the first egg pips till they are all out, which will be 
the case with the lean eggs; and perchance there are eggs 
in this lot of fat eggs which were produced by a hen that 
was more partial to what little green food was doled out to 
the flock and she at once produced an egg which was better 
fitted to hatch a healthy chick, and produced a chick that will 
stand a better show to live. Another point or two I wish to 
make and then I am done on this subject: If you are incu- 
bating lean eggs you will note that the air cell of the eggs 
are about one-third the size of the eggs on trie eighteentTi 
day, and that is what they should be, and they will be prac- 
tically all alike in that respect, all large air cells, giving the 
chick a chance to pip its way out; while fat eggs, no matter 
what you do with the ventilator or artificial moisture, you 
have mostly very small air cells, although in a few cases you 
may have a few with larger air cells, due to some of the 
hens having eaten more green food than the others, and the 
ones with the larger air cells are the ones which hatch on time 



18 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

and produce the best chicks, while the others either don't hatch 
or hatch a cripple, either outwardly or inwardly, but certainly 
a poor, sickly chick, which will be hard to raise if it can be 
raised at all. And still more proof: Take eggs which have 
been layed by hens that have had no green food of any kind, 
and you v/ill find that not one of the eggs can be hatched; 
but if by chance one should be hatched it will not live long 
after coming out of the shell, for it has not in it the vital essen- 
tial minerals. You will also note when these chicks die, 
whether it be in a week or a month after they are hatched, 
they will still have the undigested yoke in them, even hens two 
or three years old will be found with the undigested yolk, but 
grown to enormous size, it having taken on the form of a sort of 
a tumor. 



INCUBATORS 

I do not claim that any old way of incubating will suc- 
cessfully hatch the lean eggs; not by any means. There is 
a fixed law governing incubation but that branch of the 
poultry business I am not going into in this booklet. That is 
a knowledge which I will go into with those who desire to 
make incubation a specialty, or to the manufacturer of incu- 
bators. There is a law governing incubation, you can rest 
assured, and that law is not generally understood; at least I 
have not yet met with any who understood it; nor have I 
seen any incubators which were built on the right lines, nor 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 19 

have I seen instructions which went with the incubators which 
showed that the makers had had any knowledge of the law 
governing incubation. For proof of what I have stated I 
desire to remind those who have been operating any one make 
of incubators or of the various makes, to note that each year 
brings forth a new set of directions, and in most cases radically 
different from those of the previous year, as well as radical 
changes being made in the make-up of their incubators. w'e 
c'.ll know that nature's laws, or science, does not change from 
year to year to accommodate the various notions of Tom, 
Dick or Harry; then why the continuous changes? I will 
leave it to you to answer. I know that you will see my 
point. 

As I have said before, I am willing to insrruct and give 
this information to those who are interested, and they can take 
the matter up with me and we can arrange date, terms, etc. 

In concluding this chapter I desire to say that having 
proper eggs, as before mentioned, and an incubator properly 
constructed and operated, you will hatch more and better 
chicks than in the nature way. Why? Because in the 
nature way not every hen is a good setter, that we all know, 
while the mechanical setter will attend to the job at any 
time, and all the time, if given proper attention by a com- 
petent attendant, and will bring forth its quota of larg'i, fluffy 
chicks which will live if given half a chance; and last, but 
not least, it will build up generations of hens which will have 
a constitution to assimilate food that will go to making eggs, 
which is the aim of all poultry-raisers. With proper stock. 



20 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

and knowing how to take care of it, and then practice what 
you know and success is yours. 

ALFALFA 

For some reason alfalfa has been recommended by most 
authorities on poultry as a valuable green food for chickens, 
but I must say that I take a decidedly differently view. It is 
true that alfalfa does contain some very highly nutritive prop- 
erties, but given as an exclusive green food it wll prove to be a 
sad disappointment. Of course you will want to know why, 
after being told in many different instances that it was just the 
right green food for chickens. 

To those who have been feeding alfalfa as a steady green 
diet, to the exclusion of other greens, such as kale, Chinese 
cabbage, chard, etc., it has been evident that there is more or 
less sickness, and quite often some very serious epidemic occurs, 
and frequently the flock is afflicted with worms. You knov/ 
that this is true, and yet you have never located your trouble 
as coming from feeding of alfalfa. 

Alfalfa is a legume, and all legumes get their life-giving 
properties from the air. It absorbs the nitrate out of the nitro- 
gen of the air, which in turn gives life to the plant. Its blood 
(sap) is composed principally of nitrate which flows downward 
and is deposited in the soil, to the great benefit of the soil 
for other crops. 

As I have said, alfalfa does contain certain valuable nu- 
tritive properties, but its sap is certainly injurious, not only to 



SCENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 21 

fowls but to other animals that eat it. In fact, it is very danger- 
ous, especially in the early morning when there is a heavy 
dew; that is when the legUme plant gets its greatest ration of 
nitrate, and if animals partake of it at that time it will in most 
cases cause such an accute case of indigestion (nitrate poison- 
ing) that if quick and drastic relief is not given It generally 
proves fatal. 

When the alfalfa is cured into hay it is not so bad, be- 
cause the essence of the nitrate is evaporated. It is then un- 
doubtedly good for cattle, but for hen food I certainly would 
not recommend it. 

A few more remarks about legumes, as a food: 

The potato, which is a legume, is a Very valuable veg- 
etable for food, but it has been proven that it is undesirable td 
feed in large Quantities to chickens. Why? Because as a 
rule the potatoes are cooked with the skins on, and the water 
in which they have been cooked is used along with the skins 
to mix into the chicken mash, causing indigestion (poisoning) 
from the nitrate in the skin of the potatoes; but if the skin is 
removed before cooking it becomes not only harmless but 
beneficial. 

Beans and peas are also legumes and may prove harmful 
if given to fowls with the water in which they were cooked; 
but if boiled for a short time and then the first water poured 
off it will remove most of the nitrate, making them whole- 
some. If parched or roasted, then ground, beans and peas 
are very valuable food, as all of the nitrate is evaporated. 

I think this is enough on the danger of feeding legumes in 



22 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

a careless manner. Bear in mind that what causes the trouble 
is the nitrate which goes into the system, generating gas, and 
in some cases proves very disastrous. Many sudden deaths 
may be traced to eating some legume, in both human and other 
animals. The verdict is usually "heart disease," but in fact 
if it were known that it was gas pressure on the walls of 
the heart, causing the heart to stop beating. 

For quick and efficient relief in the case of an animal 
being taken with an acute case of nitrate poisoning, as I call it, 
but better known as gas bloated, administer a large dose or 
doses if need be of the purgative. A dose for a cow would 
be about 12 ounces, or even more; there is no danger of 
giving an over dose. For small animals gives the dose in 
proportion; for an adult person one ounces is about right for 
quick action. Sometimes it has to be repeated, especially 
when the patient has a high fever. The principal thing is to 
get the bowels to move. It is safe and advisable to use the 
purgative on any animals or human, whenever there is a pain 
in the stomach, or fever. 

If administered at once it will certainly end the trouble, no 
matter what caused it. 



VEGETABLE DIET FOR EGGS 

In this chapter I hope to make it clear to the reader 
that the maximum of eggs can be produced on a vegetable 
diet, or nearly all vegetable, except a small ratfon of grain 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 23 

a day, if the vegetables are of the proper kind. They would 
be lean eggs, and not so desirable for tabic use, for the 
market demands fat eggs, which have been layed by hens 
fed on highly concentrated food. An exclusive vegetable 
diet, or nearly so, will produce a lean, watery egg, and often 
with an offensive odor. These eggs would be proper for 
incubation. So let us see what would make a proper feed- 
ing ration: First, hens will eat most all kinds of garden truck, 
either cooked or raw. We will take rutabaga turnips and 
stock carrots, cooked, are excellent, to be mixed in with the 
grain mash, even the veins of kale and Chinese cabbage 
leaves are good, to be chopped up fine or cooked and mixed 
into the mash. A few potatoes, cooked, not much, but a 
little, is very good to mix with the rest. If you are accus- 
tomed to feed, say nine pounds to the 1 00 hens of the bal- 
anced rations mash you can reduce that to say four or five 
pounds with the balance in cooked vegetables. Of course 
the bulk will be much larger than if you had all grain mash. 
In a short while you will learn just about what amount of 
vegetable matter to feed, and yet produce an egg that will 
pass muster on the market. Chopped up greens, raw, should 
be given twice a day, all they can eat up clean in one and a 
half hours. 

As I have said before, hens will eat most all kinds of 
garden truck — onion tops in moderation (for they will taint 
the eggs), turnip and carrot tops, etc., but as a crop to 
grow especially for them, I recommend Jersey kale, Chinese 
cabbage, rutabaga turnips, stock carrots, a little squash and 



24 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

pumpkin. All of these are easily grown, and can be had the 
year round. 



ENSILAGE 

I Would recommend to the large poultryman, who keeps, 
Say, 2,000 hens or over, that he looks up the feasibility of 
feeding ensilage to his hehs. A small silo of a few feet irt 
diameter, or it might be tried with whisky barrels — they 
ought to be cheap now. Chopped up grass, when it is green 
and tender, along with most any kind of wild weeds, which 
grow so plentifully at the beginning of the wet season, or* 
spring, all may be used to advantage in filling the silo. I 
Would recommend getting from the government a book on 
silo and ensilage. (Write to your Congressman, ahd he will 
gladly send you one.) 

Or any company manufacturing silos ot ensilage machines 
will furnish you with books which will give you all the infor- 
mation needed on the subject. These books are to be had 
for the asking. 

A FOWL'S ANATOMY 

As this booklet is Written mainly for the benefit of poultry 
Jraisers, I will try and keep that subject from now on in the 
fore ground, only deviating from it when necessary to make 
a point clear. 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 25 

A fowl's anatomy Is practically the same, in all respects, 
as the anatomy of the mammal, which most of us understand 
more or less about; so if the reader will bear this in mmd 
it will not be necessary to go into details as to the construc- 
tion of the fowl. She has the same organs we have, if not 
just alike in construction, at least they perform the same func- 
tion. We will take, for instance the digestive organs: they 
go through the same process as our own: the food must be 
mixed with saliva and gastric juices, masticated, mixed and 
churned to the proper consistency, so that when it traveTo 
through the intestines it can impart its life-giving properties 
which is being absorbed by untold numbers of small absorb- 
ers which line the insides of the intestines, absorbing the nutri- 
ment which goes to build up the different cells of the body. 
Now that which is absorbed is in reality essence of miner- 
als, and what is left to be evacuated is solid mineral waste. 
All of this process will work to perfection if the fowl gets 
the proper quantity of each mineral that is indispensible to 
be normal. But if one or more of these minerals are lacking 
the fowl will not digest her food properly, the system will 
become clogged, causing fermentation, poisoning the system, 
which finds its way into the blood, when the fowl becomes an 
easy prey to the diseases which may be lurking around, and 
which are always present. 

How can the average poultry keeper tell whether there are 
certain elements lacking in the poultry diet? By the general 
deportment of the flock. It may be at first they don't seem 
to get enough to eat; they are always looking for more and 



26 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

not contented with what they have before them; and finally 
gradually losing their healthy looks. Their combs will begin 
to turn black, first noticeable at the tip; then the whole comb 
begins to shrivel up, turning pale; and finally entirely losing 
their appetite, and seeming to have lost all interest in what is 
going on about them, scarcely cares to leave the roost, never 
bathe, etc., etc. The&e are some of the infallible symptoms 
which cannot be mistaken. Of course it goes without saying 
that the egg production has ceased and your flock is liable 
to some epidemic that may prove very costly, so that instead 
of having a profitable business it has been turned into a disas- 
trous and losing game. Then at the first symptom all you 
have to do is to give the required mineral tonic, as it is named 
for convenience, and fully explained later on. 

Referring again to the organs of the fowl, as I have al- 
ready stated, the fowl has the same organs which we have; 
the hen has two ovaries and when they begin to function, that 
is, to discharge, a multitude of egg germs are deposited into 
the egg sack or dock. At the time of this discharge if the 
hen is in prime physical condition these egg germs, or a certain 
number of them, will develop and will be laid; and the hen 
cannot help herself; it is a process of nature over which she 
has no control, and as long as the hen is kept in this prime 
physical condition the process will be continued the year 
around, with no intermission up to the time her ovaries cease 
to discharge, and that will be her alloted life, about fifteen 
years. 

But if at the time of the discharge of the ovaries the hen 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 27 

is below par, physically, these egg germs will perish and pass 
ofT, and it will be another month before this process will be 
repeated, and until the hen is physically fit she will continue 
to be sterile, or non-productive. 

Note. — From the time of the discharge of the ovaries until 
the time the first egg is laid is about eighteen days. 



PROLIFIC HENS 

All hens are not equally prolific; some may be able to 
produce 30 eggs in 30 days, and it is recorded that a hen has 
produced 60 eggs in 48 days, thus producing two eggs a day 
for several days during the period, but of course these are 
wonderful exceptions. Other hens are not capable of laying 
more than I 5 eggs in 30 days, but they will run from 1 5 to 
30, and it is not uncommon for flocks of thousands to average 
during the most favorable months, where the flock is in good 
condition, 25 eggs per month, and this not from selected hens. 
Let me state here that there is no practical rule whereby a 
hen can be selected as a probable heavy layer, or a poor 
layer. I have seen some of the worst looking specimens 
turn out to be the best layers, while some of the best looking 
Jurned out to be sterile; and yet both give the direct lie 
to all established rules. I do not mean to insinuate that the 
worst looking specimens are the best layers, or vice versa; 
not by any means, but what I want to point out is that there 
are no set rules by which we can positively go by in selecting 



28 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

the most prolific from those of a lesser degree, or sterile. The 
percentage of sterile hens, however, is so small that it hardiy 
pays to try and ferret them out. 

There is a way to tell, however, whether a hen is laying or 
about to lay, and that is by the pelvis bone, and that even, is 
not always a sure indication, as it may be that in certain hens 
the pelvis bone is unusually abnormal, and for some reason 
does not open, while in a normal hen when she is about to lay,, 
and that means she is going to give birth, the pelvis bone 
spreads or opens, as it does in other animals. But, again, 
what is the use of all this talk about when a hen is laying or 
about to lay? Her general healthy appearance is a sufficient 
sign; her bright red comb, her normal appetite, her cackling, 
scratching, dusting and her general lively interest in the pur- 
suit of her daily happiness; that is a sure and positive sign, 
and you know that it is so, because you are getting the eggs, 
unless you have a flock of pullets among them which are just 
coming on. Then you can rely on the other sign. 

Now if your hens are spiritless with shriveled and pale 
combs, there is only one thing to do, and that is to tone them 
up according to formula until you get the desired result. It 
is up to you to provide what is needed, and if you don't you 
have no cause for complaint, but you simply have to take your 
medicine until you are capable of or willing to supply that 
which is needed to put them in normal or prime condition. 
Just like the gardener, if he fails to provide the proper fertil- 
izer, water, etc., etc., to his plants they will be fruitless, 
sicken and finally die. 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 29 

A few more remarks about selecting your stock for breed- 
ers will suffice on that subject. I certainly do believe that 
each poultry keeper should try to improve his flock, both as 
to uniform looks, for beauty as well as productiveness, for 
like breeds like, and what is more pleasing to look at than 
a beautiful lot of chickens of uniform appearance? So in 
making selections for breeders, have your ideal in looks, if 
possible, but be sure to select those which have proven to have 
been the most prolific. It can be done in various ways, and 
most poultry keepers know how, so I will not take up space 
on that subject. Don't forget, however, that a hen has two 
ovaries, and they work every month in the year, and there are 
mighty few that are sterile, and the poorest ones will give not 
less than fifteen eggs per month, and that kind are few, so 
you can figure it out for yourself, if you keep your hens in 
tip-top condition the year round they will give you eggs the 
year round, and that will be a good many more than 200 
per hen. 

DISCARDING HENS 

It has been the general custom to send hens to market after 
the second or third year of laying. Why? The answer is 
because they were over fat and old, and non-productive in 
sufficient quantity to pay for their keep. In a way this is 
true, but let us see why they were old and yet so young. 
They have become prematurely old, because the allotted life 
of a hen is fifteen years and over. 



30 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

What is old age? Old age is caused by the hardening 
of the arteries and the hardening of the arteries is caused by 
impure blood, and impure blood is caused by indigestion, 
sluggish liver and kidneys. Knowing the causes which pro- 
duce these effects, then why don't we remove the cause and 
prevent the effect? And when you do you will find that 
your hens will be just as productive the last year of her allotted 
time to reproduce her species and that will not be less than 
twelve years, and she will not look any older than she did 
when she was at two years of age. 

DISEASES OF FOWLS 

I want to say first of all that I don't believe in diseases, 
and I hope to be able to instill the same belief to the reader of 
this book. Diseases in fowls is unprofitable and mighty disa- 
greeable, and at times very costly to get rid of; so I believe 
in preventing instead of waiting to cure, as it is so much 
easier. However, I will point out what brings on diseases, 
although a fowl which is getting into its system the required min- 
erals in a properly balanced quantity will, in a great measure, 
throw off or withstand the pernicious attacks of the various 
poisons. That is why you hardly ever see barnyard fowls, 
which have access to all the premises and surrounding fields, 
ever die of disease. Why? Because her system is, as a rule> 
well supplied with the required essential minerals, keeping her 
digestive organs in tip-top working condition, making her 
immune from any poisonous substance which may be intro- 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 31 

duced into her system, along with her food and water, although 
the surrounding premises may not always be free of filth, such 
as I will now point out. 



PTOMAINE POISON 

Ptomaine poisoning is probably one of the most common 
causes of sickness and death in chickens. It causes more 
chickens to die than all other causes put together. In fact, 
there are few other causes. 

What is ptomaine poison? In order to enable the aver- 
age person to locate the trouble that affects chickens, I will 
here point out a common source of ptomaine poison. Musty 
food, straw or litter ; decaying fruit or vegetables ; tainted meat, 
milk or buttermilk. Shady or dark places where decaying 
wood or other vegetable substances will produce fungus, that 
will poison any food that will come in contact with it, or the 
gases coming up from it, this fungus may be under the floor 
of your hen house or brooder house. Wilted or fermented 
greens of any kind, will cause untold trouble. Sour, wet 
mash, grain and dry mash hoppers is often the cause of trou- 
ble if not cleaned out once in a while, especially in rainy 
weather. 

Greens should not be thrown on the floor, for the fowls 
to tramp upon; it will surely bring on trouble. Greens should 
be cut and fed fresh. 

Watering troughs should be kept clean, very clean, and 



32 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

the waste water should be taken care of so it will not pollute 
the premises. 

These are a few but common causes of ptomaine poi- 
soning. 

Ptomaine poison may cause sudden death or may be a 
lingering death, but in all cases it is indgestion, either in an 
acute or milder form, and if not attended to quickly may 
develop into one of the many diseases known to affect fowls 
— and in most cases hard to cure, but if taken at the least 
sign of indisposition, by giving the fowls a purgative, it will 
end the trouble. Hunt for the cause and remove it. 



PURGATIVE AND WHEN TO GIVE 

The poultryman should pay particular attention to the 
droppings of his fowls, as it is a pretty sure barometer of the 
condition of how they are digesting their food. If they are 
feeding on the right kind of green food their droppings will 
generally be right, that is, soft, and usually dark or black, 
with a very offensive odor, while if they are hard and dry, 
and occasionally some with yellowish or dark red and soft it is a 
sure sign of indigestion and bowel troubles. The yellowish 
indicates worms, the dark red indicates inflamed intestines, 
both caused by indigestion. You will also notice the fowls 
eating their own droppings, proof that it is undigested food. 
If you look into the dropping pile, that is if you clean the 
droppings every day, you will find maggots in the manure, 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 33 

another sure sign of undigested food, because there could not 
be maggots in the droppings if it had been reasonably di- 
gested. So my advice is to always see that the droppings are 
kept soft and dark, or black, by giving them the purgative 
as often as need be to keep up that condition. If you are 
obliged to give the purgative every day, then give the tonic 
once every two weeks. It will keep up the richness of their 
blood; otherwise the blood may get too thin. 

For dose of either purgative or tonic see formulas. 



THE WORLD-RENOWNED MINERAL 
SPRINGS 

We are all familiar with the health-giving properties of a 
Vast number of world-renowned mineral springs. Those 
which contain in their composition magnesia, sulphur and 
iron are the ones which are positively efficient in the cure of 
any and all diseases that affect the human body; but unfor- 
tunately the population of the world cannot go to the springs, 
but we can at least avail ourselves of the minerals just as 
effectively in our own homes, not only to the benefit of our- 
selves, but to the animals depending upon us? 

All that is needed is to know just how to prepare and 
compound these various minerals to get the desired result, 
and if used in time, I mean before it is everlastingly too late 
1 have yet to see any sickness which it did not conquer if 
taken at home as faithfully as it would be taken at the springs. 



34 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

Baths can even be prepared at home, getting practically the 
same result as one would if they were at the springs. 

I may prepare a small book sometime in which I will go 
into full details of how I cured myself when all the doctors* 
had given me up as a hopeless case, when I was dying of old 
age, crippled and afflicted with all the ailments which go 
with the breaking down of the human body, such as- rheu- 
matism, piles, nervous breakdown, sleeplessness, and all the 
pains which go with them; in other words I was dying with 
old age when I should have been in the prime of life. I had 
spent untold amounts of money to get relief, but to no avail. 
In desperation I decided to treat myself along the same line& 
as I had been treating chickens, and to my great astonishment 
I got relief from the first few days. Within three months I 
was apparently cured of all my ailments and I have not had 
an ache nor a pain since, and instead of an old looking old man, 
which I was ten years ago, today I am still what a man should 
be, a man in the prime of life. And aside from this I have 
had the pleasure to note the wonderful results it has accom- 
plished upon others who were afflicted with the curse of pain- 
racking diseases such as the human body is heir to. 



SOLUBLE, MAGNESIA AND SULPHUR 

Magnesia and sulphur in their original state are not 
soluble with water, nor does it dissolve to any great extent 
when taken into the svstem. It has been known for untold 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 35 

ages that these minerals were being subjected to a chemical 
process in the bowels of the earth and the essences of each 
come up to the surface of the earth and are known as magnesia 
and sulphur waters, and in some instances these two are found 
to be combined in the same water. But thanks to the science 
of chemistry both of these indispensible minerals can now be 
had in a soluble form. By a process of sulphuric acid on 
the rock of magnesia it precipitates the magnesia into a 
crystal, making it soluble in water, and this combination is 
called 

BATH 

There are very few poultry keepers who pay any atten- 
tion to proper bathing facilities for their chickens. If proper 
bathing facilities are not provided for in the poultry yard 
all your other efforts in their behalf will be more or less 
wasted. What is the proper bath and what good does it 
do you may ask. I will answer the first by explaining how 
a bath should be prepared. Place in a convenient place 
an ample sized box or boxes to accommodate your lot of 
chickens. In these boxes put in clean, wholesome soil (not 
sand) at least once a week. Every morning prepare their 
bath as follows: To every gallon of water dissolve one- fourth 
pound of coarse sea salt and a pinch of permanganate of 
potassium. You then sprinkle this solution in their bath, 
mix it in the soil to make the soil moist. The soil must be 
kept in such a way that it is light and free from lumps. If 



36 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

your fowls have a yard or run to go in these baths may be 
kept outside in convenient places, a shady nook preferred. 

As to what good it does: First, it enables them to keep 
themselves clean and free of body lice and skin diseases. 
Second, it enables them to eat a quantity of this prepared 
soil which contains, after the addition of the above solution, 
minerals which are Indispenslble to their health and welfare. 
The soil itself contains certain minerals, and when the solu- 
tion comes in cjntact with it a chemical action takes place, 
the result of which seems to be just the right thing for the 
fowl, just what she has been looking for. 

People who can afford it take mineral baths and drink 
mineral water to their great benefit. We even prepare baths 
for our cattle, sheep and all other domestic animals, and why 
not fowls? Third, it is the most wholesome way for the fowl 
to take her daily physical exercise. Any exercise of a more 
violent nature is not only unnecessary, but positively injurious 
and expensive. Expensive in many ways. First if you have 
a scratching pen system with six or eight inches of straw 
on the floor, or any other similar system which may be used 
for the purpose of making the hens work for her grain, any 
of these systems involves a great deal of work to keep them in 
a clean, wholesome condition, does it not? Of course, antJ 
work is money. Then you have the straw which is also 
costly, all to make her work. Work for what? To get her 
food. Don't you realize that every ounce of energy spent 
in this laborious work is costing you more grain, more food 
to make up for the wasted energy you are subjecting your 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 37 

fowls to? This hard work stuff has been, in my estimation, 
greatly overdone. It has worked all right for untold ages 
to benumb the intellect of the working masses, both human 
and the other beasts of burden, into the belief that honest, 
hard work was good for the soul and body. 

Well, all I ever saw come out of a long life of physical 
hard work was a deformed being, deformed physically and 
intellectually. No, I thank you, I prefer to take mine in a 
milder form, and I have noticed since I have been practic- 
ing it that I haven't any aching joints and muscles and 
my mind seems to work in a broader, clearer way. So I 
make this plea for the innocent and helpless hen; we want her 
to lay 200 to 300 eggs or more per year, and on top of that 
we scatter her food at extra cost to ourselves into a mass of 
obstacles, arid tell old biddy, "now, old girl, get in here and 
dig; it is good for you; it keeps your mind occupied so you 
won't have any time to get into mischief, besides the exercise 
is good for you." 

Well, I have made my plea in behalf of old biddy and 
hope for both your own and biddy's welfare, that she can 
have time if not to broaden her mind, to at least have more 
time to attend to her motherly duties, viz: egg-laying. 

Now, dear reader, these are some of the reasons why 
you should not neglect the daily bath for your fowls from the 
lime they are born until you dispose of them. 

TO BE AVOIDED 

Any sudden change in feeding will be followed with a 



38 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

material drop in egg-production. A change should be made 
gradually if possible. Chickens are creatures of habits, and 
they are very keen to notice the least change in their accustom 
diet, or arrangement on the premises. Hens seem to have 
the powder to withhold the laying of an egg at will, but I 
do not think so, I attribute it to her extreme nervous organism, 
which seems to disarrange the normal functioning of her 
other organs. 

It is advisable to be very careful in making any changes 
too often. Strangers should not be permitted to go too near 
your poultry yards; it should be the same person to feed and 
care for the flock. One should adopt a certain noise when 
approaching the poultry yard, so that they get to learn that 
particular noise as meaning that the attendant is coming with 
something good for them. If one enters a poultry house with- 
out giving warning when the door is open, the flock will fly in 
all directions at once, and if this is repeated several times in a 
day serious consequences may follow. So it behooves you to 
be careful not to excite your chickens nor do anything that 
may cause them to be suspicious or disappointed. 

BOWEL TROUBLE 

Under this heading we have a great number of names 
to distinguish the various bowel troubles which affect chickens 
of all ages; no matter under what name it may go by, whether 
in grown fowls or baby chicks, it all comes from indigestion. 
The only way to cure it is to give the purgative and give as 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 39 

many times as required, or until the symptoms are gone; above 
all find the cause and remove it. 

INDIGESTION 

How to tell when your fowls have indigestion: In mature 
fowls a sure sign is by their comb turning black at the tip, 
and of course a general depressing look, while in small chicks 
their general droopy appearance and their desire to bunch up 
or cuddle together is a pretty sure sign. If not checked be- 
fore long it is liable to develop into serious complications 
which may prove hard to cure; but if attended to at the first 
sign one dose of the purgative will as a rule be all that will 
be needed, 

BODY LICE 

Blue ointment can be gotten from any drug store. Hold 
3^our hen by bringing her two wings over her back — in that 
way you can hold her with one hand. On the tip of your 
index finger of the other hand have a very small amount of 
the ointment; no more than the size of a pea. Qrease under 
each wing on the flesh. Over the vent on the flesh and on 
top of the head just back of the comL. Do not use it on 
very small chicks. 

SPRAY 

For mite and disinfectant, dissolve two pounds of coarse 



40 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING ~" 

sea salt and one ounce of permanganate of potassium in three 
gallons of water. Dissolve fresh each time; use a wooden 
bucket. 

CATARRH 

Of all diseases of chickens, catarrh is probably the most 
to be feared, and it can be avoided if proper care is taken 
It comes from draughty and damp houses. At the least sign 
of catarrh act quickly by giving a purgative — dose or doses 
— and remove the cause. If you don't it will develop into the 
many subsequent diseases, such as canker, diphtheria, roup, 
swell head, etc. Besides giving the purgative you will have 
to take each chicken affected and squeeze out the mucus from 
their nostrils and disinfect the head by immersing it in a 
solution of one-half teaspoonful of permanganate of potassium 
in a quart of water. Allow the solution to get into their 
mouth. You probably will have to repeat this more than 
once in bad cases. The bad fowls should be removed from 
the rest so they can be treated with ease. If taken in time, 
by giving the purgative and removing the cause, you will not 
have any trouble. 

CHICKEN POX 

The trouble can mostly be traced to musty straw, but 
don't stop till you find the cause and remove it. This disease 
is easily cured. Give them the purgative. If your fowls 
are badly affected, give the purgative every few days until 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 41 

all signs of the pox are gone. It is well to remove the worst 
cases, to be treated separately. Some individual fowl may 
have to have its head disinfected, and, besides, if the great 
bulk of the hens are all right it is not advisable to be dosing 
them for the sake of a few. 

WORMS 

Worms come from undigested food in the intestines, and 
if not removed will make your hens unprofitable and often 
cause death. In addition to the purgative add one teaspoon- 
ful of muriatic acid to each 1 00 fowls, give the purgative 
and acid for three days; stop for one week, then again for 
two days. It will generally be enough. 

GRAIN 

Grain should be kept before the fowls at all times in self- 
feeding hoppers. You can also keep before them in self- 
feeding hoppers dry mash, but these hoppers should be so 
arranged that they can be closed up at night, so that the hens 
will not be able to fill up on dry feed before they get their 
wet mash. They can be opened after the wet mash is 
cleaned up. 

I don't recommend throwing the grain on the floor, ground 
or straw. It is a very unsanitary way of feeding, besides 
being expensive. I recommend just enough straw on the floor 
of your hen house to absorb the moisture of the droppings. 



42 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

The hens will scratch it about, keeping the floor clean, and it 
can be cleaned out often, as it don't involve such hard work 
as it would if you had five or six inches of straw on the floor. 

GREENS 

Greens should be fed twice a day, cut fresh each time, 
and give them all they can eat of it in 1 1-2 hours. 

GRIT AND SHELL 

Grit and oyster shell should always be kept before them. 

TONIC FORMULA 

To every 5 lbs of 

Goes one ounce of 

PURGATIVE FORMULA 



SATURATED SOLUTION 

Put into a bottle two-thirds of 

Add enough water to fill the bottle. When dissolved it 
is ready for use. I advise having a bottle of this solution in 
a convenient place, so that when you are going through your 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 43 

poultry house and you should see an individual fowl not looking 
just right, catch it and give it a dose. It may be that you 
will prevent a serious sickness, and stop further trouble from 
that source. A dose is one tablespoonful for a grown fowl 
and for smaller chicks a less dose in proportion. A glass 
drop counter should be used for very small chicks. 

PURGATIVE 

The purgative is given in the mash. Dissolve the quan- 
tity of purgative required in warm water so as to dissolve 
it quickly, then put that solution into the quantity of liquid 
that you are going to use to mix your mash. It is important 
to get an even distribution of the purgative into the masTi. 
A purgative dose is as follows, according to ages: 



1 


week 


old 1 


ounce 


to 


1 00 chicks. 


2 


weeks 


old 2 


ounces 


to 


1 00 chicks. 


3 


weeks 


old 3 


ounces 


to 


1 00 chicks. 


4 


weeks 


old 4 


ounces 


to 


100 chicks. 


5 


weeks 


old 5 


ounces 


to 


100 chicks. 


6 


weeks 


old 6 


ounces 


to 


1 00 chicks. 


7 


weeks 


old 7 


ounces 


to 


1 00 chicks. 


8 


weeks 


old 8 


ounces 


to 


1 00 chicks. 


9 


weeks 


old 9 


ounces 


to 


1 00 chicks. 



After they are 9 weeks old they are classed as grown 
fowls — it takes 9 or .10 ounces to the 100. 

If you would see the need of giving the purgative more 



44 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

than three days in succession the dose should be reduced one- 
half to one-third. There is where good judgment comes in. 
Note the droppings and the general appearance of your 
fowls. If the purgative has been given regularly for say ten 
days it is well to give a dose of tonic so to keep up the quality 
of their blood. 

TONIC 

The tonic is dissolved and fed the same way as the pur- 
gative and in like amount per 100 fowls. The tonic is to 
enrich the blood and should be given once a month to grown 
fowls so to keep up the quality of rich blood. 

SUNSHINE AND LIGHT 

Pure air, sunshme and light should be one of the first 
requisites in your hen house and brooding house. The houses 
should face the south if possible, but southeast or east will do. 
Build so that the sunshine and light will penetrate to all parts 
of the house. If you have dropping boards, they should be so 
arranged that light and sunshine will reach clear under. Per- 
sonally, I prefer no dropping boards. A laying room, con- 
veniently arranged, makes it easy to gather eggs and attend 
to broody hens. Have your broody hens' calaboose built 
adjoining your laying room and so arranged that you can 
put the broody one from your position from the inside of the 
egg room, through a trap door into the calaboose. The cala- 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 45 

boose should be in three departments, so as to put each day's 
broody hens in one department, so at the end of three days' 
confinement your hens are ready to go back to their jobs ot 
laying- — provided you have treated her right by having fed 
and watered her, the bottom of the calaboose should be 
slats or wire netting so that the air will come up and cool her 
feverish condition. 

WET MASH TROUGH 

To feed wet mash you should provide ample troughs so 
that each and every hen will have a place at the feast, and 
these troughs should not be left on the floor to be soiled t'le 
rest of the day. They should be kept reasonably clean. 

YARDS 

I believe in yards, no matter whether large or small, for 
your hens to go out. It gives them a chance to get out in 
the real sunshine and pure air and once let out they should 
not be restricted for it makes them nervous and discontented — 
and a nervous and discontented hen does not do her best. 

YEAST AS FOOD AND MEDICINE 

There are probably mighty few people who know that 
yeast is more than what it is commonly used for. In fact, 
yeast, besides being a ferment, is food and medicine. As a 
food it is a top notcher, and as a medicine it has all tha 



46 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

necessary mineral essences which go to promote health in 
animal kind. Yeast is a plant; it belongs to the vegetable 
kingdom. The mineral atoms called wild yeast, are all 
about in the air. It is caught by preparing the right kind of 
food likely to attract it where it will propagate very rapidly 
in this favorable environment, like seed in a well prepared 
hot bed. It will germinate, grow and multiply. While this 
wild yeast in its new environment becomes what is known 
as domestic yeast and if properly cared for its tiny cells will 
multiply themselves several million times in a short time. 

As I have stated before in a previous chapter that there 
are certain elements indispensible in the growtfi of animals 
and to maintain health and vigor in both young and old 
some of these elements, vitamine, are found in various foods, 
especially in the various grains, we give our fowls, but with- 
out other essentials that are found in the young tender shoots 
of grass, etc. This vitamine that is so essential, indispensible 
to the growth of the young remains dormant or without 
power, while the yeast has a most wonderful' power to take 
from these grains the elixir of life, vitamine, and send it 
coursing through the system in its life and health giving 
properties. Yeast can be made at home. I dare say that 
there is not one in a hundred farmers' wives who do not know 
how to make yeast, and those who do not know can get the 
information from her nearest neighbor. Or it can be bought 
at most any grocery store. I recommend the compressed 
yeast cake. It should be used in the following manner: 
Prepare your yeast in the usual manner to ma^e bread, only 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 47 

put twice to three times as much yeast as if you were going 
to mix bread dough. For every pound of flour you would 
use so much yeast. Well, to every pound of chicken mash 
put two or three times as much yeast as you would for your 
bread. It is well to mix the yeast 1 2 hours or so before 
mixing the mash; that is, mix the yeast in a thin batter, com- 
posed of your regular mash and let it stand for 1 2 hours. 
Then add enough water to the batter to make a crumbly mash. 

FEEDING WET MASH 

The mash should be mixed in a convenient mixing 
trough so it can be well mixed. There is a wet mash power 
*nixer that does the work to perfection. Mash should be fed 
the first thing in the morning, being their first meal, all other 
feed being kept from them until they have eaten their mash. 
Cooked vegetables, such as rutabagas turnips and stock car- 
rots, are most excellent. Chopped up greens mixed into the 
ttiash are desirable; in fact, preferable. If you have skim 
milk or butter milk in plenty it can be used instead of water to 
add to your yeast batter. Make your mash as tasty as 
possible by putting in seasoning. It pays. Try it. 

EGG MASH FORMULA 

Bran 150 lbs. 

Shorts ..— 7:5 lbs. 

Corn meal 125 lbs. 

Cocoa meal -. 25 lbs. 

Beef scraps 75 lbs. 

Coarse bone meal 50 lbs. 



48 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

Feed 5 to 9 lbs. of this mash per 1 00 hens for a wet mash, 
depending upon how much cooked vegetables you are using, 
if any. 

BROODING BABY CHICKS 

Owing to the fact that there are nearly as many different 
brooding systems as there are poultry raisers, it is impossible for 
me to go into detail of how each brooder and brooding arrange- 
ment should be arranged to conform to certain fundamental 
laws governing the welfare of growing chicks. Briefly, I will 
point out certain fundamental things that must be embodied 
no matter what kind of brooder you are using: First, the brood- 
ing house must be well lighted with plenty of fresTi air and all 
the sunshine possible. And positively there must not be any 
draught. There should never be two or more opposite openings 
to admit and let out air, that creates a draught. The best way 
is to have one side open, more or less, like a corning house, pro- 
vided with a cotton curtain, so it can be let down in stormy or 
very cold weather, but otherwise open — the rest of the walls 
may have windows to give light, but must not be open — there 
must not be an^ draught. 

Next in importance is to get your chicks on the roost. They 
must have air under them. When they are two weeks old, con- 
trive some arrangement suitable to your brooding system that 
will take your chickens off the floor. Use your ingenuity and 
think out some way to build a lattice grill where they brood, so 
that there will be one inch or so of space above the floor, allow- 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 49 

ing the air to pass under the chicks. When this arrangement is 
first put in you can camouflage it by putting a Httle straw over it. 
After a few days they will be used to it and will not mind it; 
then, a little by little, you can raise it higher. If you don't do 
this, you cause your chicks to sweat and catch cold, causing indi- 
gestion and the subsequent troubles. The artificial heat should 
be lowered every day, so when they are three to four weeks old 
they are well broken to the roost and need no m.ore artificial 
heat. If you do not practice this you cannot be real successful 
in raising robust, healthy hens — hens that will have a digestive 
capacity that will enable them to withstand the many unnatural 
treatments that they will be subjected to in their tuture life. 

I hope that I have made it clear enough to enable the 
average person to use his or her ingenuity to contrive some 
arrangement that will bring about the above requirements, and 
yet enabling you to utilize your present brooding arrangement 
without going into any great additional expenses. 

FEEDING BABY CHICKS 

Feeding baby chicks is not a complicated proposition, if you 
do as advised in brooding. 

Baby chicks should not be fed before they are 50 to 60 
hours old. They should be kept in boxes, covered with one-ply 
gunny sack, and keep them in a cool, dark room until the night 
before they are to be fed. Place them in their brooder. The 
brooder should not be over 95 degrees of heat. The floor of 
the brooder should be covered with burlap, so that they cannot 



50 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

eat anything that might be on the floor — such as sand, sawdust 
or cut straw. Next morning, place before them their water 
fountains with clean water and see to it that after that they are 
well supplied with it. Now for their meal. Get from your 
dealer white quartz, baby chick grit; give them enough so that 
they will all have a small pinch. In about two hours you can 
give them their first real meal, which is rolled oats or steel cut 
oats — a little every two hours for two days; then you can give 
them all the room possible. After the two days of feeding, 
as stated above, you can start on feeding a crumbly mash — 
which is prepared as follows : 1 00 lbs. middlings, 1 00 lbs. corn 
meal, 40 lbs. beef scrap, 14 lbs. cocoa meal. After the chicks 
are three weeks old you can add to the above mash 75 lbs. 
wheat bran. 

Prepare enough of this mash to feed your chicks what they 
will clean up in one hour. Mix it with yeast batter. If you 
have rutabaga turnips and stock carrots, cook some and mix it 
with the mash, or any coarse leaves of cabbage, kale, etc., will 
help, if cooked. The juice helps to flavor the mash and helps 
out in the feed bill. This ma&h should be fed twice a day, in 
the morning, say about 8, and afternoon about 3 o'clock. You 
can have before the chicks scratch feed and dry mash in hoppers, 
so they can help themselves when they want it. Give them 
greens when a week old. Don't throw it on the floor for them 
to tramp upon — it soon turns bad, and if they should eat it it 
will cause ptomaine poisoning. 

Most chick scratch feed is all right, but here is a good mix- 
ture: Two parts cracked wheat, two parts cracked milo maize. 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 51 

one part fine cracked corn, one part pearl barley, one part steel 
cut oats. 

GRIT 

Keep grit before them at all times. White quartz grit pre- 
ferred. 

WATER 

Water must be plentiful, fresh and clean at all times. 

BATH 

They must have their bath, it is indispensible. (See bath 
formulas.) 

WHOLE GRAIN 

Feed whole grain as soon as they are old enough to eat it. 
At six weeks old they can be fed like any grown fowl. 

SANITATION 

It goes without saying — keep premises clean and sanitary, 

RUNS 

Growing chicks must have large runs; without them they 



52 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

cannot do well. They get nervous and dissatisfied and will 
contract bad habits, such as feather pulling, eating one another, 
etc. Instead of a large house divided in small pens with cor- 
responding small runs with a few chicks to the run, I advise to 
have the house all in one room. In this way you can have more 
chicks — 1000 to 1500 together is all right, with a correspond- 
ingly large outdoor yard. Make this yard as attractive as 
possible. 

TONIC 

Your chicks should be given the tonic once every two 
weeks until they are six weeks old, then every month. 

GARLIC 

Garlic is probably one of the most potent vegetables we 
have, and if used in the chick mash will add strength and vitality 
greatly beyond your expectation. It works wonders. Two 
ounces of garlic to every 1 00 chicks, increasing the amount as 
they grow older, remove the coarse skin and run the head 
through a meat chopper and mix in their mash. 

No chicken raiser should be without a good sized patch of 
garlic. The time to plant it is from December to February. 
Heavy soil is the best. 

FINAL, BUT MOST IMPORTANT 

Dear Reader: Before this you have undoubtedly come to 



SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 53 

some conclusion in your own mind, either that you have been 
"stung" or that it is possible for you to derive benefit from what 
I have endeavored to impart to you. To the first thought I 
will earnestly ask you not to stand in your own light. Un- 
doubtedly much that I have written does not agree with your 
previous line of thought, although you well know that you have 
not scored the success in your poultry raising which you had 
hoped and desired. Then why not get out of the old rut and 
get in on this new line of reasoning? 

Did it ever occur to you that if I had written the same old 
stuff which you have been accustomed to reading, and which 
more or less conforms to your own ideas, that I would not have 
helped you at all? Stop and think. You know very well there 
is something radically wrong with this chicken business, otherwise 
you would not be looking for something better. It takes a rad- 
ical change to bring about better conditions out of something 
which has been going wrong for untold ages. My advice may 
look radical to you, but it is not. It is simply conforming to well 
established laws, the laws of nature. My idea of what is rad- 
ical is something which would go contrary to nature's laws. 

So in this book I have tried to give, as plain, concise and 
comprehensible a manner as possible, so all those who could 
read could understand. Of course I could write volumes on 
the same subject, but I believe that I have said enough to enable 
those with a will and a disposition to put into practice what they 
have learned, to succeed, and it certainly cannot but help them 
to better their condition. 

And that is why I have written this book, to give to my 



54 SCIENTIFIC POULTRY RAISING 

fellow men the benefit of my long years of experience in a work 
that to me has been most interesting; interesting at first because 
it was apparently mysterious, but after years of dilligent search, 
experimenting and testing, I have made these wonderful discov- 
eries; wonderful because I had to get away from all established 
rules and established customs. I stood alone as it were, an 
outlaw. So, naturally, in this great selfish world of ours, I 
jealously guarded my acquired knowledge, which was acquired 
in such a painful, costly and discouraging manner, for a number 
of years; but at last circumstances have changed which enables 
me to impart the knowledge to my fellowmen. 

In conclusion I beg of my readers to read this book over and 
over until you have it fixed in your own mind, so that you will 
be able to appreciate nature's laws, especially those of the min- 
eral kingdom and its relation to the other two kingdoms. 

The Author. 



